1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a board lock of an electrical connector, and in particular to a board lock having a four-finger pawl for securing the electrical connector to a printed circuit board.
2. Related Arts
Electrical connectors are widely used in a variety of electronic/electrical devices for providing electrical connection between electrical components. One of the commonly known applications of the electrical connectors is to connect an electrical device to a printed circuit board. Such connectors are usually mounted on the printed circuit board and form a mating portion to matingly engage a corresponding connector of the electrical device to be connected to the printed circuit board. Techniques for mounting an electrical connector to a printed circuit board includes surface-mount technique (SMT) and through-hole technique. Either one requires a soldering process for permanently securing the connector on the printed circuit board. To ensure proper position of the electrical connector on the printed circuit board, the connector must be temporarily retained on the printed circuit board before the soldering process takes place.
Board locks are commonly used to temporarily retain an electrical connector on a printed circuit board before a soldering process takes place. A variety of board locks have been developed for more effectively and securely retaining an electrical connector on a printed circuit board. U.S. Pat. No. 5,137,245 and Taiwan Patent Publication No. 154276, both assigned to the present applicant, disclose a board lock having a pawl comprising four resilient fingers substantially and angularly equally-spaced around a central axis of the pawl. Four fingers ensure a stable engagement between the board lock and a corresponding hole defined in a printed circuit board.
The conventional four-finger pawl based board lock, however, is disadvantageous in that a great effort must be taken in forcing the hooked ends of the four fingers though the hole of the printed circuit board.
It is thus desired to have a board lock requiring less effort in being mounted to a printed circuit board while maintaining stable engagement with the printed circuit board after being mounted thereto.
Thus, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a board lock which can be readily mounted to a printed circuit board while effectively and stably retaining an electrical connector on the printed circuit board.
To achieve the above object, in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a board lock for temporarily retaining an electrical connector on a printed circuit board during a soldering process. The board lock comprises an L-shaped body having a first section riveted to a housing of the connector and a second section perpendicularly extending from the first section. A U-shaped channel-like portion is formed with the second section and has two side walls. A pawl is formed on the channel-like portion, comprising a first finger and a second finger extending from each of the side walls. The first finger has a concave, resilient portion forming a barbed free end. The second finger has a straight portion forming a barbed free end. The pawl is received in a hole defined in the printed circuit board with the barbed ends engaging an edge of the hole to retain the connector on the printed circuit board. The straight portions of the second fingers reduce the force required for insertion of the pawl into the hole of the printed circuit board while the concave portions of the first fingers provide resiliency sufficient to effectively and securely retain the connector on the printed circuit board
The above and other objects and advantages of the present invention can be better understood by reading the following detailed description of preferred embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: